When do you think the average German realized that he or she was living under a fascist dictatorship?
- Chris Rowthorn

When the truth about our country’s policy becomes clear, can we summon the courage to address it from a moral perspective? The Germans left it up to the churches; the churches collaborated.
- Ray McGovern

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for the sick, the so-called incurables, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't mentally ill.

[When They Came... Rev. Martin Niemoller]

When they came for ... the blacks, I turned away
When they came for the writers and the thinkers and the radicals and the protesters, I turned away
When they came for the gays, and the minorities, and the utopians, and the dancers, I turned away

Then they put away the prostitutes to keep married men cloistered at home.
Then they shooed away the bums, then they beat and bashed the queers,
turned away asylum-seekers, fed us suspicions and fears.
We didn't raise our voice, we didn't make a fuss.

When They Cracked The Whip, Nothing Was Said
When The Flames Burned, Nothing Was Said
When They Notched The Barrels, Nothing Was Said
When The Bays Opened, Nothing Was Said
When The Dogs Were Set Loose, Nothing Was Said
When The Colors Run Red, Nothing Was Said
When Innocents Cried In The Face Of The Guilty
No One Said Anything

Then one day they came and they took me
And I could say nothing because I was as guilty as they were
For not speaking out and saying that all men have a right to freedom
On any land

I was as guilty of genocide
As you
All of you

For you know when a man is free
And when to set him free from his slavery

So I charge you all with genocide
The same as I

[Don't Let It Happen Here by Charles Mingus on the album Music Written for Monterey, 1965 Not Heard...Played Live in Its Entirety at UCLA," re-released on September 26, 2006.]

Chris Rowthorn:

"In 2007, the average American is in exactly the same position as the typical German, Japanese or Italian citizen of the early to mid-1930s. Unless you happen to be a Muslim, a left-wing political activist, or a regular reader of left-wing political websites or journals, you could be forgiven for thinking that it's business as usual in the United States of America.

"Consider the factors that could easily unleash outright fascism in the United States: the accelerating collapse of the US dollar; the follow-on effects from the subprime loan debacle; soaring energy prices (peak oil); catastrophic weather events caused by global warming; and, of course, the one thing that Bush's entire foreign policy seems almost guaranteed to bring about: another large-scale terrorist attack on American soil. Any one of these by itself could trigger outright fascism. Combine two or more, and American fascism is 100% certain.

"History teaches that there is a point of no return in the evolution of a fascist state. Once that line is crossed, there is no turning back until the country lies in ashes and millions lie dead both inside and outside the country."

I'll grant you that you have some points. Our civil liberties have been eroded since 9/11. We are involved in an unconstitutional war in Iraq, but then the Vietnam war was probably unconstitutional, just part of The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. But there's a line from the movie, "Swimming With Sharks" that has a lot of truth to it: "If you're not a rebel at 20, you've got no heart. But if you haven't turned establishment by 30, you've got no brain." By the way, if you're worried about fascism, there's more chance of it happening in Russia. Personally, I don't see fascism resurfacing anywhere. It was a peculiar system of government where all real property (land, buildings, etc) was owned jointly, a third each, by the government, by the applicable industry, and by the people. It also had strong undercurrents of nationalism, which is what you should be worried about, loyalty to the state above all else. That's what happened in Germany and if it's happening anywhere these days, it's happening in Russia. There is a certain irony that the Red Menance's goal was global communism and now this country's goal seems to be global democracy, by force when necessary. Provided Mitt Romney doesn't get elected (and I don't see the Republican's evangelical base turning out in droves for a mormon), I see things starting to improve in 2009. And, if not, I'm more concerned about an Orwellian olligarchy than fascism.